Oh hi! It’s me, Desiree, and today on a solo episode of the pod, we’re going to answer that burning question, “why am I bloated?” Before we get going, you need to know that it is TOTALLY NORMAL to get bloated from time to time. Eat a 3 bean chili? We all get bloated. Holiday feast? Yep, all that food takes up space. Part of a healthy digestive system is occasional variations - like how most of us get constipated for a day or two while we travel or how collard greens will loose up the BMs. But what if it’s not occasional? What if it’s everyday, or multiple times a week? Then, we want to get really curious about what is going on in our bodies. And as a gut health dietitian with IBS, bloating is a part of my life. I can go from unbloated to 5 months pregnant in about 30 minutes. Most of the time, and I’ve spent most of my 10+ years of IBS with minimal symptoms. But something this year has shifted - I am enjoying blaming hormones and stress - and so I’ve had to get real about taking care of my gut to help minimize what for me is very painful bloating. And so when you guys shared your ideas for upcoming podcasts, bloating really stood out to me and here we are! Consider this Bloating 101: we going to cover the basics of bloating, along with some common underlying causes and some useful solutions. Bloating is complex and in no way can this episode cover everything about everything…but it’s a start. I’ve got tons of gut health nutrition resources here on the blog. And of course, if you need to dive deeper you can grab a copy of Good For Your Gut!  On this episode we chat about: What is bloating? Bloating vs Distention 5 common causes of bloating Whether more fibre - or less - is a better idea for bloating Why your morning smoothie is making you bloated A one minute fix for stress-induced bloating When you want to see your doctor The number one cause of food intolerance type reactions Community question: Seed cycling Support the Pod! We couldn’t make this podcast happen without the support of our amazing listeners…and a huge thank you to our incredible new sponsor, FODZYME! FODZYME is a unique blend of 3 enzymes that help folks with FODMAP intolerance enjoy food with fewer symptoms. This product is helping me so much that I asked them to partner with us…and they said yes!! FODZYME is giving our podcast community 20% off of their first order with the code DESIREERD. Just visit fodzyme.com/desireerd to learn more about this incredible breakthrough for those of us with IBS who react to lactose, fructans and GOS in their food. Please show FODZYME a little Allsorts love! I love hearing your feedback on these episodes to be sure to join the conversation on our instagram @theallsortspod @desireenielsenrd as well as in our Nutrition with Desiree community. If you love this episode, please share it with your friends and family, or take a minute to rate, review or subscribe on your favourite podcast app. We appreciate EVERY. SINGLE. LISTEN! including